The Night Watchman

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Synopsis

This play dramatizes the story of the sinking of the whale ship Essex, and the fate of its crew through the device of an Inquiry when Captain Pollard loses a second ship and must answer for it. He is by then already a scarred man. It portrays life both at home on Nantucket, and at sea, and the terrible choices that harsh conditions sometimes forced upon our nineteenth century forbearers. But it also holds a mirror up to all who have responsibility for the lives of others.